the tail lights work, but the brake lights dont. i was looking around and found at the top of the brake pedal there is a button that is pressed in when then brake pedal is not engaged, and the button is not pressed when the brakes are engaged. and on the other end of this button is a small black box attatched to a clip. is this the censor? do i need a new one?

 

You got it - unless there's something wrong with the wiring between there and the taillights (for brakes), or the bulbs both happened to burn out at the same time (and only the brake filaments), then you're onto it already.

You might try fiddling with the switch and see if you can get it working again - this should be a simple 'contact' type switch, and shorting the two leads together (or possibly to ground) should activate the brake lights as designed. With a little ingenuity, you could probably rig up a Radio Shack contact switch in it's place for a low-cost installation - I would bet you that the Dealer wants something more than an arm and an eyeball for that part... HTH,

 

If you have a brake light out you would get a "stop lamp" warning light on the dash. So its probably the sensor. LD is on top of it as always.

 

well, i took the sensor out, apart and put it back in, and unfortunatly it didnt work... do you really think that both lights burned out at the same time? or i just need a new sensor

 

You need the new sensor - as Steve pointed out, the electrical system runs a 'diagnostic' of sorts when you start the car that checks the resistance in the parking and brake lights - if you have a bulb burn out, it will cause the 'Stop Lamp' idiot light to illuminate. That would tell you that you need to replace bulbs.

I think your sensor must be bad. Ebay/Mazdatrix/Pic-A-Part - good luck,

HEY! You're in luck, www.victoriabritish.com shows this as part # 71-655 w/o cruise control for $7.95, or if you have cruise control part # 71-656 at $12.95.

You get off cheap this time!